Images of aircraft wouldn't normally fit on a website about birding and hiking around Las Vegas, but with Nellis Air Force Base, Creech Air Force Base, the Nevada Test Site, the Tonopah Test Range, Area 51, and thousands of tourists flying into McCarran, North Las Vegas, Henderson, and Boulder City airports everyday, there are so many things flying around the skies that they become a part of outdoor life around Las Vegas. If you don't know them, they can be an intrusion into your solitude; but if you do, they add interest to the sky -- and there is always the chance of seeing something wild.

Plane Spotting: For aircraft enthusiasts, there are great plane spotting sites around Las Vegas. McCarran International (LAS) and North Las Vegas (VGT) airports have designated plane spotting areas, and although the Air Force doesn't like it, there are great plane spotting sites around Nellis and Creech Air Force Bases. Out near Hoover Dam, there are good places to spot a variety of fixed- and rotary-wing tourist aircraft. Farther afield, the hard core can look eye-to-eye with passing fighter pilots and gaze out across Area 51.